Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong, founder and Chief Executive Officer of 54gene, will serve as the keynote speaker at the Keck Graduate Institute 2022 School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (SPHS) commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 14, 2022.
“I am delighted for the opportunity to share in the celebration as the KGI community honors its class of 2022,” said Ene-Obong. “KGI’s programs are changing the landscape of healthcare education, and I look forward to seeing all the graduates start impactful careers.”
54gene is a health technology company advancing the state of healthcare through large-scale discovery and translational research, advanced molecular diagnostics, and clinical programs for the benefit of Africans and the global population.
“We are incredibly excited that Dr. Ene-Obong has accepted our invitation to speak at our SPHS 2022 commencement,” said KGI President Dr. Sheldon Schuster.
“Not only is he a KGI alumnus, but more importantly, he’s an accomplished global leader and we could not be prouder of his accomplishments.”
Founded in 2019, 54gene has made Time Magazine’s list of 12 innovations that would change healthcare in the 2020’s and has been listed by Nigeria’s Punch newspaper as one of five innovations that would improve healthcare for Africans. 54gene also made Fast Company‘s list of the world’s ‘Most Innovative Companies’ in 2020. AppsAfrica also awarded it the best health technology solution.
In 2021, 54gene was selected as a Tech Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. In September 2021, 54gene was named Company of the Year 2020 in Nigeria by the Leadership Newspaper.
Ene-Obong was listed as one of the 30 most innovative entrepreneurs on the African continent in 2019 by Quartz Africa. In September 2020, he was labeled a Nigerian hero in the fight against COVID-19 by a Nigerian newspaper, ThisDay. Ene-Obong is also included in Fortune’s 40 under 40 most influential people in healthcare for the year 2020.
In 2020, he was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Also in the same year, the respected pan-African publication, New African Magazine, recognized Ene-Obong as one of the most influential Africans.
In 2021, Ene-Obong was admitted into the inaugural class of the Bloomberg New Economic Catalyst in recognition of his contributions toward accelerating solutions to global healthcare problems. In addition to his notable award in 2020, the New African Magazine again recognized Ene-Obong as one of Africa’s young innovators.
Ene-Obong holds a PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of London, a master’s in Human Molecular Genetics from Imperial College London, and a Postdoctoral Professional Master’s degree from KGI. He also worked as a cancer researcher and published a seminal paper on pancreatic cancer immunology in the Gastroenterology Journal.
KGI’s 2022 SPHS commencement ceremony will take place on KGI’s campus (535 Watson Drive, Claremont, CA 91711) at 2 p.m. PST on May 14.